Chapter Text
When Harry walked up the garden path towards Andromeda’s house, there was a loud crack behind him, and Draco fell into step with him.
“Morning, Potter.”
Harry turned around and smiled at Draco, “Don’t you think we ought to go with ‘Harry’ and Draco’ today, for appearances as much as anything else?”
“Oh, Teddy knows I don’t like you,” Draco joked, “I’ve been trying to persuade him towards a life of crime for years.”
Harry knew Draco well enough now that he could tell when he was joking, so he shot him an amused look, “And I’ve spent years being the cool Uncle who works for the ministry, so I think he’s more likely to follow in my footsteps.”
“Well, those are our footsteps now,” Draco mused.
Harry raised an eyebrow at him, and Draco’s cheeks flushed when he realised how that sounded.
“Not that there’s an us,” Draco said hastily, “I mean, I’m me, and you’re you, so you know….”
Harry chuckled at his vaguery, “Never happening, I know. The fact we’re friends is hard enough for my brain to process.”
“Mine too,” Draco admitted as the door swung open and a small blue-haired boy ran at them.
“Uncle Draco!”
Draco laughed as the blur of blue jumped at him. He hugged the little boy with ease, “Hey Ted!” he chirped as he ruffled his hair, which temporarily turned blonde.
Harry scoffed, but he smiled, “Who am I, Teddy, just some stranger?”
Teddy frowned at Harry, who swung a broom shaped present over his shoulder, “I guess I’ll just take this back to the shop then...” He said as he began to walk away.
Draco chuckled as Teddy ran at Harry and attached himself to his leg, “No, please don’t, Uncle Harry!”
Harry grinned and hugged his Godson, “Hey Teddy. How are you?”
“I’m good, Uncle Harry,” Teddy grinned, “I didn’t know you and Uncle Draco were friends! He told me it was a secret when he came to visit. He said you would beat him up and put him in Azkaban if you knew he visited me!”
Harry gave Draco a long-suffering look, “Did he?”
Draco grinned sheepishly, then shrugged.
Teddy nodded excitedly, “He did say that, didn’t you, Uncle Draco?”
“I did say that,” Draco admitted, “But that was before your Godfather and I were friends.”
“How are you friends?” Teddy asked eagerly, “Did you meet at the playpark and decide to be friends because you both liked the swings?”
Harry and Draco both chuckled, and Harry said, “No, buddy, adult friendship is a little more complicated than that.”
“Unfortunately,” Draco said with a smile, “But your Godfather and I work together now; that’s how we became friends.”
“Oh!” Teddy shouted, “Are you a Ministry guard too now, Uncle Draco?”
Draco looked at Harry in amusement. The dark-haired man gave him a pointed look, so Draco replied, “Uh yes, I am.”
“I thought you said you were a very important antique collector,” Teddy said, cocking his head at the two men.
“Well, he used to be,” Harry said calmly, “But then he realised that selling antiques wasn’t what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. They can be dangerous, you know, when they’re cursed, for example. And the sort of people who buy antiques like that are bad people, but your Uncle Draco is a good person, so he decided to become a Ministry guard instead.”
Teddy looked at Harry for a long moment, then shrugged, “Selling antiques sounds cooler.”
“It was,” Draco said, ignoring Harry's glare.
“Go on through to the garden where your friends are, Teddy,” Harry said, “We’ll be there in a minute.”
“Okay, see you!” Teddy said as he motored through the house.
“You told him you collected antiques?” Harry asked him in disbelief, “You ran a Black Market!”
“How do you explain that to a 6-year-old?” Draco retorted, “And you can’t talk! You told him you were a Ministry guard!”
“Andromeda wouldn’t let me tell him I was an Auror,” Harry admitted, “She said it might make him unreasonably reckless, like me or his mother.”
Draco laughed, “Andromeda wouldn’t let me tell him I was a criminal. She said it would lead him down the wrong path in life.”
They shared an amused smile as they walked toward the garden.
“He’s gonna be in Hufflepuff, isn’t he?” Harry asked Draco.
“Undoubtedly,” Draco replied.
And they both laughed as they stepped outside. There were only a few other children here; Victoire was Bill and Fleur’s eldest daughter and Teddy’s best friend. There were a few other children that Teddy knew through Andromeda’s friends. It was just a little tea party in the garden, where it wasn’t raining for once.
“Good morning,” Andromeda smiled, “I never thought I would see you two walk through my front door together.”
Draco chuckled, “Well, he’s my boss now.”
Andromeda’s smile widened, “I heard,” She said, glancing at Harry.
“Of course he told you,” Draco remarked, but there wasn’t even any malice in it anymore.
“Your Mother would have been so proud, Draco. She only ever wanted you to become a good man,” Andromeda said, and Draco’s eyes softened slightly when his aunt looked at him.
Harry smiled slightly, “Well, he’s certainly that, Andi. Where’d the little guy go?”
Andromeda frowned, “I thought he ran to the door to meet you?”
“He did, but we told him we would meet him in the garden,” Draco said slowly.
“He didn’t come back out here,” Andromeda said, her frown deepening.
Panic began to set in, and Harry ran back into the house shouting, “Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!”
There was silence, and a diagnostics charm showed that he, Draco and Andromeda were the only people in the house. They were all panicked as they ran around the garden searching for the little boy, but they found no sign of him. Harry and Draco decided to search the house properly, and that was when they found it…
The window in the drawing-room was open, and the breeze was blowing the curtains around wildly. A note was pinned to the wall, and it had almost blown away when Harry and Draco got to it. Their hearts sank at the words written on that note.
“I have your Godson, Harry Potter. If you want to see him alive again, you will do exactly as I say. I will floo you on an encrypted channel in 20 minutes. No Aurors, just you and his Grandmother.”
Harry glanced at his watch, “It’s been about 15 minutes since he was taken,” He said as his eyes flicked nervously towards the fireplace.
“We have to call in the others, the team - ” Draco began.
“It says no, Aurors Malfoy!” Harry snapped, “Do you know what that means? It means if there are Aurors, they kill him!”
“Kill him?” Andromeda asked weakly.
“He’ll be fine, Aunt Dromeda,” Draco said gently. He glared at Harry and crossed the room, explaining in whispers to Andromeda.
She clutched her chest and sat down heavily on an armchair by the fire. Draco stood behind her as the fireplace roared to life. There was no face, only a voice, and it was clear that a muffling charm had been used on it because it was deep and crackly to disguise the person's voice.
“Who is with you, Potter?”
“Just me, Teddy’s Grandmother and his cousin Draco Malfoy. We were the ones who found the note,” Harry replied. He was trying to remain calm, but it was proving difficult.
“Will you give me what I want in exchange for your Godson?”
“What do you want?” Harry asked roughly.
“You, Harry. The deal is as simple as that. I want you to pay for what you did to my family. If you meet me at the rendezvous point that I have arranged, I will give this child to his Grandmother, and I will take you in return.”
“I want proof that you have Teddy first,” Harry said firmly.
The crackly voice laughed, and Teddy’s terrified face appeared in the fire seconds later.
“Proof enough?”
Harry’s face paled, “When? And where is the rendezvous point?”
“Harry,” Draco hissed, “He’ll kill you!”
“And if I don’t exchange myself, he’ll kill Teddy,” Harry said harshly, “Enough people have died for me, Draco.”
The crackly voice laughed again, “Excellent choice. Richmond Park at 3 pm. If I see any Aurors, I kill your Godson. If I see any Muggle law enforcement, I kill your Godson. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Harry said weakly.
The fire crackled out, and Draco turned to Harry angrily, “You can’t just walk into this on your own, Potter! We have two teams willing to help us. We have to let them!”
“We can’t!” Harry shouted, “You heard what they said! They will kill him if they see Aurors, Malfoy. I’ve been an Auror for far longer than you have, and I have seen people like this kill children because the parents have been stupid enough to think they could outsmart them!”
“But we are not the average parents of a kidnapped child,” Draco said as he walked toward Harry, “We’re Aurors; we can outsmart this guy. Our teams are brilliant; they can get in here without anyone knowing.”
“We may be smarter than the average parents of a kidnapped child, but we are not Teddy’s parents, Malfoy,” Harry said coolly, “He doesn’t have parents. They died because of me. They died fighting for me! So maybe it’s fitting that I die for their son!”
Draco shook his head and looked at Harry, “You can’t do this yourself. It’s a suicide mission!”
“And since when did you care whether I lived or died, Malfoy?” Harry asked coldly.
Draco grabbed Harry’s shoulders and hissed, “You are being a heroic idiot, Potter! You said it yourself, when we were at school, we got in each other’s faces a lot. Do you want to know why we did that? It was because we both knew that it was the best way to get through to each other, intimidate each other, and annoy each other. It’s also the best way to convince you that you are an idiot. We need our team. We need our friends.”
With Draco’s face inches away from Harry’s, the dark-haired man couldn’t help but meet Draco’s eyes where a fire was burning. He gave a minuscule nod and said, “Okay.”
Draco sighed in relief and let go of Harry’s shoulders.
“If you are quite finished with your moment of self-pity, can we get my Grandson back?” Andromeda asked dryly.
Harry nodded and tapped his communications bracelet in a specific pattern. 9 taps, a pause, 1 tap, a pause, and 1 more tap. It was the emergency communication, and it connected his bracelet to that of the Assistant Head of the DMLE, the Head Auror, which was currently him, his entire team, and Draco’s entire team.
“My Godson has been kidnapped,” Harry said, “I want to keep this on the down-low because if the kidnapper finds out that Aurors are involved, he will kill him. Susan, do not pass this information on to the Head of the Department and do not order any appeals. Just be aware of the situation. As for my team and Malfoy’s team, we need as many of you here at Andromeda’s home as possible. Daphne knows where it is. Meet in the Ministry and apparate here. There is a secret room in the basement outside the house's wards. You will be able to apparate into it. When you get here, approach the drawing-room with caution, the kidnappers cannot know you are here.”
He pressed the bracelet to end the communication.
“There isn’t a secret room in my basement,” Andromeda said; she narrowed her eyes at Harry.
“Yes, there is,” Harry sighed, “I installed it when you said you wanted custody of Teddy. I was paranoid, and I’m glad I was because otherwise, even if the team had wanted to help, they wouldn’t have been able to get in here.”
“You installed a secret room in my house and did not tell me about it?” Andromeda asked quietly.
“For your Grandsons safety!” Harry snapped.
“Harry, we will be discussing this once this is all over,” Andromeda said darkly.
“Yes, Andi,” Harry said offhandedly.
“That’s Andromeda to you.”
Draco sighed, “Stop it. Fighting isn’t going to help us get Teddy back any sooner, is it?”
“Draco Malfoy, the voice of reason,” Harry said bitterly, “I never thought I’d see that happen.”
“Stop it,” Draco snapped as he began to pace the room, “We need a plan, Potter. Now, Theo is my diagnostics guy. He can break wards, so surely he can break the encryption on that floo call….”
“The kidnapper would have to call again for him to be able to do that,” Harry said dryly, “And he won’t.”
“Then we can put people in disguise when you meet the guy. They can hand Teddy over to Andromeda and then stun him and save you.”
“It isn’t that easy, Malfoy,” Harry said as they heard footsteps on the staircase, “The second Teddy has been handed over, he’ll put a proximity charm on me.”
“So that we can’t get you back unless he lifts it,” Draco muttered.
“If you kill him, you’ll never lift it,” Harry said, “If you don’t kill him, you’ll never convince him to lift it.”
“We will if we torture him,” Draco pointed out.
“We’re Aurors; we don’t torture people,” Harry said weakly.
“You’re an Auror, we’re a team who do whatever it takes to get the right thing done, and I will torture him if it means saving you,” Draco said, a storm brewing in his grey eyes.
Harry smiled slightly, “As comforting as that is, we can’t do that. But I appreciate the thought.”
Draco opened his mouth to say that he would do it, regardless of whether Harry said he could or couldn’t, but at that point, the door opened, and their two teams piled into the large drawing-room. They were a motley crew; Ron, Emma, Ritchie, Neville, Daphne, Theo and Eddie.
“What’s happened?” Neville asked, taking the lead among the two groups.
“Teddy was kidnapped,” Draco said as he placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder, “Potter is blaming himself and trying to go on a suicide mission to save him.”
“Sounds like you,” Neville said darkly, “What do you want to kill yourself for this time? Your life is actually looking pretty decent.”
“I don’t want to kill myself, Neville,” Harry said as he glared at his friend, “The kidnappers want me. They said they will hand Teddy over to Andromeda in return for me.”
“So you think you’re just going to walk in there and die?” Ron asked in disbelief, “You really are bloody delusional, mate.”
“There’s no way we’ll let you die, Harry,” Daphne agreed, “We’ll find a way to get Teddy back without you dying.”
Theo nodded, “Did the kidnappers contact you via floo?”
Harry nodded, quite overwhelmed by the support of his friends and still aware of Draco’s warm hand resting on his shoulder.
“Perfect,” Theo said, “Right, Eds, you’re in the chimney.”
Eddie rolled his eyes, “I’m always in the chimney.”
“I’m better at the encryption spells,” Theo said in amusement, “Get on the roof and get in the chimney, then talk to me over the comms.”
“Will do,” Eddie said as he stepped out of the window and began to scale the building.
“What are you doing?” Harry asked in confusion.
“He’s being a badass,” Emma said dreamily.
Ritchie snapped his fingers, “Emma!”
Emma’s cheeks coloured slightly, “Oh, they’re trying to trace the call. If Eddie can access the magical hub in the chimney, he can tap into the last call, and hopefully, Theo can break the encryption.”
“Will that actually work?” Harry asked in surprise.
“If anyone can make it work, Theo and Eddie can,” Draco said proudly, “You let me pick my own team, Potter, and I told you that I would pick wisely.”
“I trust you, Malfoy,” Harry said honestly, “I just hope this will work.”
“I’m in Theo.’”
“Right. When was it last cleaned out?”
“Seems to be scheduled to be cleaned out on the hour.”
Harry’s eyes snapped to the clock. It was 1.52 pm.
“Alright, get a move on then, Eddie. We’ve only got about 8 minutes until it’s cleaned again, and then we lose the call.”
“I know. I’ve extracted it from the hub and put it on the backup server. Can you access it through the fireplace?”
“Give me a minute.”
Theo was now lying on his stomach in front of the crackling fire. He mumbled, and the fire roared green, “I’ve got it, Eddie. You can get out of there now.”
“Will do.”
“Alright,” Theo mumbled, “Uh, Coote. You’re the diagnostics guy, aren’t you?”
Ritchie nodded, “What do you need a hand with?” He asked as he lay down next to Theo.
“I need someone to hold the floo open while I try and break through the encryption on the call. You know what it’s like; unconnected, it normally cuts off after 5 minutes,” Theo said.
Ritchie pulled out his wand and muttered for a few minutes, “I’ve got it. I can hold it for half an hour, max, then we lose the call.”
“That should be enough time,” Theo said quietly as he began to move his wand in circular motions and whisper incantations in Latin.
Harry shrugged Draco’s hand from his shoulder and got to his feet. Pacing the room made the time pass slightly faster, but he could still hear every second tick by on the clock as Theo’s whispering and mutterings got quicker and more panicked.
The silence of the room was broken when Harry’s communication bracelet crackled. He pressed the button to accept the call and was not surprised to hear Susan’s voice.
“Harry, it’s me. I need updates. I’m acting head this week with the big boss on holiday. What is going on?”
“Teddy has been kidnapping. Theo is trying to trace the call by breaking through the encryption,” Harry said calmly, far more calmly than he felt, “If he can find out where the kidnappers are, we are contemplating a sneak attack.”
“What is the alternative?”
“The kidnappers want me, Susan,” Harry said simply.
“So you intend to hand yourself over?” She asked calmly.
“I can’t see any alternative. I will not let my Godson die for me,” Harry said.
“What are the chances of Theo breaking the encryption and finding the kidnappers?”
Draco glanced at the long-haired man. Theo nodded, “Very likely, I’ve nearly got it.”
“Did you hear that?”
“I heard,” Susan’s voice said, “Alright. Plan A is that Theo finds where the call came from. You are authorised to take a team of 4 and no more per the Auror guidelines for hostage situations. You enter under disillusionment charms, and you find the child by all means necessary. You are authorised to use lethal curses, do you understand?”
Harry frowned, “No, I don’t understand. Are we talking Code Red?”
“Code Red,” Susan confirmed, “We have intel that this may be an escaped Death Eater, Harry. This is a Code Red situation.”
“Understood,” Harry said simply.
“Now, Plan B. If Theo does not manage to find an address, we have to prioritise. I have to tell you, Harry, as your boss, that you, as Acting Head Auror are more valuable than a 7-year-old child. The department's line is that you should not sacrifice yourself for Teddy.”
“But as my friend?” Harry asked.
“As your friend, I know how much you love that little boy. And I know you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if anything happened to him. I’m not going to sugarcoat this for you, Harry and I’m not going to try and change your mind. Do what you have to do.”
Harry nodded to himself, “Thank you, Susan.”
“Be careful, Harry,” Susan said with a note of finality.
“I will. Potter, out.”
He ended the call and realised that everybody in the room was staring at him. He sighed and gravitated towards Draco and Neville.
When he reached them, Harry asked, “Am I, or am I not, going to die today?”
“You’re not going to die because I’ve just un-encrypted the call,” Theo muttered.
“Hurry up and replay it,” Ritchie said, “I can only hold this open for another 3 minutes.”
Theo nodded and did so. The first message played again, but the voice was no longer charmed. When it was over, Harry and Neville caught each other’s eye.
“Harry, was that….”
“Yes,” Harry said quickly, “That was Dennis Creevey.”
Ron frowned, “Colin’s brother?”
Harry nodded, “Neville and I’s first case….” He trailed off.
Neville sighed and cut in, “Our first case was to arrest him…he lost it after Colin died. He was hurting people, and we put him in the confinement ward at St. Mungo’s.”
“He got out two weeks ago,” Harry said quietly.
“Why would he take Teddy?” Daphne asked.
“Because he holds me responsible for his brother’s death,” Harry said, “Now he wants to punish me.”
“Look, this might seem bad, but we must have gotten an address. Right?” Eddie asked.
Theo shook his head, “No, it was pinged through about 6 open floos…there’s no way to trace it.”
Draco groaned in frustration, “But we know it’s Dennis Creevey. Can’t we get an address?”
“His last known address was from before he went into St. Mungo’s 4 years ago,” Neville said, “There’s no way of knowing where he is now.”
“I’ll get the files about his case from the DMLE,” Emma said, and she disappeared from the room.
“Can somebody update Susan, please?” Harry asked, his voice breaking.
Neville nodded, “I’ll do it,” He said, patting Harry on the shoulder as he walked to the room's far end.
Harry let out a shaky breath and took his eyes away from Draco’s pale face to focus on the clock. It was now 2.20 pm.
40 minutes until he had to walk to his death again.
“So, what do you want us to do, Susan?”
“What can you do, Neville?”
“We have no address, no idea where Creevey could be…all we know is that he will be at Richmond Park at 3pm,” Neville whispered.
“Can you extract Teddy without injury?”
“I don’t think so. It’s likely that as soon as Teddy and Harry are exchanged, a proximity charm will be placed on Harry so that if any of us get near him….”
“Boom.”
“Exactly,” Neville sighed, “He’s going to walk into this, Susan, knowing it’s a suicide mission, and you’re telling me that we just have to let him?”
“I’m not telling you; I’m ordering you,” Susan said firmly, “If he lives and that boy dies, Harry will not have a life. He’ll drink more, smoke more, and he might even go further in his attempts to slowly kill himself. He’ll have no life if that boy dies, so I am ordering you to let him walk into that park. However, I am also ordering you to insert a tracker into Harry. And I don’t mean a tracking charm; I mean a tracker, hold him down because he will scream, but it has to be done. We’re working on the assumption that Creevey will want to hurt him before he kills him. That gives you time to find him and get him out.”
“And what if he just wants to kill him?”
“Then you say your goodbyes soon because he will have to leave,” Susan said darkly.
“No wonder they said you’d make a good Head of Department,” Neville muttered bitterly, “You’re a ruthless bitch.”
“I’m doing what needs to be done, Neville, I don’t expect that will make me popular, but somebody has to make the difficult choices. Communicate with me before Harry leaves and tell me your plan. Remember my orders. If any of you disobey them, you will be fired.”
“Understood,” Neville said as he ended the communication and walked into the centre of the room where the team were gathered.
“Hold him down, Draco,” Neville said, jerking his head in Harry’s direction.
“Why?” Draco asked.
“Because Susan just gave Neville the order to insert a tracker into me,” Harry replied knowingly, “If you don’t hold me down, I’ll writhe, and it will only hurt more.”
Draco frowned.
“Do it, Draco,” Harry said impatiently, “Ron’s not got a steady enough hand. I had scars last time.”
Draco sighed and nodded as Harry lay on his stomach on the rug. As Neville turned to Emma, Draco pressed his hands onto either side of Harry’s back.
“Emma, we need you.”
Emma was nodding and searching through her bag. She had pulled out a small metal object, and she knelt on the ground next to Harry.
“Why not just put a tracking charm on him?” Daphne asked.
“Because tracking charms can be removed,” Eddie said.
Emma nodded, “And this can’t be removed, at least not easily,” She said as she steadied her wand hand and made an incision in Harry’s back. Harry hissed in pain, and Draco pressed harder to keep him steady.
“Can’t you numb it?” Daphne asked.
Ron shook his head, “If she numbs it, she might paralyse him.”
“The tracker has to be inserted really close to his spine,” Theo explained, “If there was a numbing charm, Emma wouldn’t be able to tell if she had hit the wrong nerve.”
“This isn’t even the painful part,” Harry groaned, and Draco sighed as Emma widened the wound.
He kept it together well, he shouted out in agony, but he didn’t scream as Draco was aware he would when in pain like this.
“Hold him tighter, Draco,” Emma said quietly, and Draco could barely hear her over Harry’s groans of pain.
He did, and he understood why she had asked him to because as she inserted the tiny metal object, he really did scream with the pain, and Draco shut his eyes tightly as once more he was taken back to the war and another drawing-room filled with screams. When he snapped his eyes open, Harry was breathing heavily and sweating profusely.
“It’s nearly over,” Emma said soothingly as she sealed the wound with her wand.
Harry did not move, and Draco asked, “Harry? Do you need a hand up?”
Harry nodded, “I really hate that,” He said through gritted teeth. He let Draco help him onto the sofa, and their eyes flashed to the clock. It was 2.40pm.
“We have to get you ready to go,” Neville said quickly as he pulled a pain potion from Emma’s bag and thrust it into Harry’s hands.
“I’m fine,” Harry muttered as he downed the potion and did a couple of glamour charms on himself to remove the signs of the trauma. His breathing had returned to normal, and he got to his feet with no help.
“What’s the plan?” Harry asked as he surveyed the room.
“Susan told me that she thought the best course of action was to let things progress as Creevey wants,” Neville said calmly, “You go in, we get Teddy, and you get kidnapped.”
“And then we come to save you,” Draco said quickly, “She better have said that because if you’re telling me that we just put that tracker in him to find his dead body, I really will hit you, Longbottom.”
Neville nodded, “Yes, our brief is to try and save you. But worst-case scenario…the tracker is so that we can find your body and give you a proper funeral.”
“But we will find you, not your body,” Draco said firmly.
Harry smiled slightly, “I admire your optimism Draco,” he said honestly.
Draco’s eyes flared slightly with something that Harry didn’t recognise.
“Alright,” Harry said, he cleared his throat, “Susan authorised a team of 4 to come in and save me. By Auror guidelines, I can only assume she means a force of 4 can break into the building. That excludes those monitoring the situation from above, for example.”
Theo and Eddie nodded knowingly, “You want us both on the roof?”
“Yes,” Harry said calmly, “During the change-over, somebody has to stay here, and then somebody has to come back here with Teddy and protect the place while the others come after me. The team coming for me will be led by Neville, and the other three members will be Ron, Emma and Ritchie.”
Draco opened his mouth to object.
“No, Draco,” Harry said firmly, “This is a hostage situation. I need trained Aurors. I will not let you risk your life because you don’t know the regulations. Theo and Eddie will keep an eye on things from above.”
“So what are we meant to do?” Draco asked in disbelief, “Daphne and I? Just sit around here uselessly while your life is in danger?”
“No, I need you to be with Teddy,” Harry said firmly, “I need people I trust to protect him, and he will be upset. He needs you, Draco.”
Draco glared at Harry, “If you die - ”
“You won’t be able to live with yourself?” Harry asked sarcastically.
“I won’t!” Draco exclaimed angrily, “You can joke all you want, Potter, but you’ve become one of my closest friends, and I’ve lost too many of them already.”
Harry sighed and caught his grey eyes, “I’m sorry, but this is how it has to be, for Teddy’s sake.”
Draco accepted this with a very stiff nod, but he made it clear that he wasn’t happy about it.
Harry pressed his bracelet, aware he was still staring at Draco. He only looked away when Susan’s voice buzzed into the room.
“What’s happening?”
“We have a plan,” Harry said, his eyes flicking to the clock.
2.50 pm.
“Shoot.”
“We go ahead as planned. We let Creevey take me, and the others come to find me.”
“Have they put a tracker in you?”
“Yes, it was very painful, thank you very much.”
“You’re an Auror; deal with it,” Susan said, amusement slipping into her voice.
Harry couldn’t manage a smile, “I have authorised Neville, Ron, Emma and Ritchie to come in after me with Eddie and Theo running diagnostics from a distance. They are under strict orders not to enter any building Creevey might transport me to.”
“And the others?”
“I’ve put Draco and Daphne on protection duty,” Harry informed her, “They are to bring Teddy back here and keep him safe.”
“That job only takes one, Harry,” Susan said calmly, “Draco is an Auror. Why not switch him out for one of your Class II’s?”
“Because Draco is only a Class III Auror, and he hasn’t been trained in hostage situations,” Harry said, “I don’t trust that he won’t put himself in danger.”
“You’re trying to protect him?”
“Teddy’s going to need a Father figure if this goes south,” Harry said, his eyes boring into Draco’s, “So Draco stays here, Susan.”
“I disagree, but it is ultimately your call, Harry,” Susan said.
“If Creevey kills me immediately and does not torture me,” Harry said, incredibly calm considering he was talking about his own death, “Can you ask Hermione to retrieve the box and hand out the letters inside it? She knows the hiding place and the passcode.”
“Of course I can,” Susan said. There was a pause on the line, “But let’s hope I don’t have to. Good luck, Harry.”
“Thanks,” Harry said darkly, “Potter out.”
“Come on,” Neville said, the second the call had ended, “Everyone glamour up apart from the people who are staying here.”
“That means you, Draco,” Harry said quietly as the others began to glamour up to look like casual bystanders close to the rendezvous point.
“Why are you so against me coming to any part of this?” Draco hissed, once more up close and personal as he got in Harry’s face.
“You heard what I said to Susan, I meant it,” Harry replied.
“That’s bullshit, Potter,” Draco bit back, “What’s the real reason?”
“That is the real reason,” Harry said calmly, “Stay here.”
“Right, we’re ready!” Neville called.
Harry nodded, “Get to the basement, I’ll be there in a moment. Daphne, take Andromeda to the rendezvous point and bring her and Teddy back here.”
They all nodded, and Daphne hooked her arm into Andromeda’s. They all left with no further objections.
“Draco,” Harry said calmly, “I don’t know what’s going on with you today because normally you’re very objective, but - ”
“I don’t want to see you die,” Draco muttered, “I’m not used to being friends with heroic idiots like you.”
Harry smiled weakly and held out his hand, “Well…I suppose if this goes south, this is goodbye.”
Draco shook his head, “Don’t be an idiot,” He said as he grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him into a firm hug.
Harry hugged him back, maybe a little tighter than he should have, and he held on, probably for a little longer than he should have. When he pulled back, he was surprised to see strong emotions swimming in Draco’s eyes.
“Good luck Harry,” He said, his voice solid on the surface but breaking underneath.
Harry nodded and clapped Draco on the shoulder as he left the blonde standing alone in the drawing-room.
They apparated away one by one after Harry had left. He was dressed normally, and he had left his wand in the drawing-room of Andromeda’s house.
He was standing by a statue in a secluded area of the park, and he was aware of the others nearby. They were reading newspapers, standing chatting, or jogging, and they all looked like casual bystanders.
Dennis walked towards Harry, he was thin and gaunt, and he had a certain madness in his eyes. He was holding Teddy’s hand, and the poor boy looked terrified. His usual appearance, blue hair and dark brown eyes had changed, as it often did according to his emotional state. His hair was now a dark red, and his eyes a grey-ish blue. Harry swallowed his anger and glanced behind him to Andromeda, who was sitting on a park bench. When Dennis reached Harry, he grabbed his arm, and Harry whispered to Teddy.
“Run to Grandma.”
Teddy did not need to be told twice. He ran as fast as possible to the bench and threw himself into Andromeda’s arms. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and Dennis placed a proximity charm on him, “Come on, Harry. We’re going for a little walk.”
Harry nodded and walked in line with the younger man.
“How are you today then, Dennis?” Harry asked. He knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to provoke the boy, but he couldn’t resist.
“Oh, just fantastic,” Dennis replied sarcastically, “I really enjoyed those years I spent locked up in St. Mungo’s with all the loonies!”
“Well, you clearly are one of those loonies,” Harry said calmly, “Sane people don’t kidnap children.”
Dennis ignored him because they had reached a secluded part in the trees. The shorter man spun on his heel, apparating them away from the park.
When the spinning stopped, Harry glanced around. They seemed to be in an old, underground car park from what he could gather. Harry had no wand, and no way to defend himself as Dennis forced him into a chair with a spell that knocked the wind out of him and then bound his arms and legs to said chair.
“So, Dennis,” Harry said, “It’s fairly obvious that you brought me here to kill me. The question is, what are you going to do to me first?”
“Do you know how my brother died?” Dennis asked calmly.
“He was killed with the killing curse,” Harry replied.
“No,” Dennis spat, “You claim to have cared about him so much! He was Harry Potter’s friend, but Harry Potter doesn’t even know how he died!”
“I’m sorry,” Harry said honestly, “I’ve read the investigation report into the Battle a hundred times, Dennis, and according to that, he was killed with the killing curse. I didn’t know it was wrong.”
Dennis scoffed.
“How did he die?” Harry asked quietly.
“Slowly, painfully and alone,” Dennis replied bitterly, “He was hit by a curse that began to slowly break every bone in his body. He fell to the ground, left for dead, and nobody did anything; nobody gave him any mercy! So if you think you will find mercy at my hands, you are wrong!”
Harry swallowed, “Dennis, I swear. I did not know that - ”
“Of course you didn’t!” Dennis screamed, “Because you never took the time to know! But now you do, Harry. And now, you will suffer, just like Colin did!”
The thin, manic looking mousy haired boy raised his wand and pointed it at Harry’s foot.
“Osconterat tardi nunc!”
Harry knew the spell because the Death Eaters had used it during the first and second wizarding war. For that reason, he also knew that it was dark magic. But he had never had it used on him, and despite his incredibly high pain threshold, he screamed in agony when the pain began in both of his feet.
It felt like all of the bones in his feet were slowly being crushed, like the pressure was pushing them to breakage, but it wasn’t a fast snap like all the other broken bones he’d had. It was all happening in slow motion, and it fucking hurt.
“Uncle Draco!”
“Teddy,” Draco breathed as he wrapped the little boy up in his arms, “Thank Merlin, you’re alright.”
“Draco, they took Uncle Harry,” Teddy whispered into Draco’s ear as he lifted the little boy up.
“I know,” Draco said gently, “But your Uncle Harry and I have some fantastic friends, Ted, and they’re going to bring him back just fine.”
Draco didn’t know that, of course. He was lying through his teeth to Teddy, but the truth was too painful for a small child to understand. Draco sat down on the sofa with Teddy on his lap and asked, “Did the man who took you hurt you?”
“He hit me there,” Teddy said, pointing to a small cut on his head.
“I’ll fix that for you,” Draco said gently, and he began to occupy himself by looking after Teddy’s wound. He cleaned it, healed it, and closed it very slowly.
Teddy cuddled into his neck when he was finished, and Draco sighed as he caught Daphne’s eye across the room. She was sitting next to Andromeda, who had been very shaky, and who was now asleep.
“I slipped her a soothing draught,” Daphne whispered when she reached him, “Do you think I ought to do the same for Teddy?”
Draco shook his head, “He’s already asleep. He’s exhausted,” He whispered.
Daphne glanced at the clock anxiously and then looked back to Draco.
“How long have you felt like this for?”
Draco frowned, “What are you talking about?”
“About Harry,” Daphne said as she sat down next to him on the sofa.
Teddy snivelled in his sleep and gripped the front of Draco’s robes with his fist. Draco sighed and gently placed his hand on top of Teddy’s, and it seemed to calm him from whatever nightmare he was facing.
“Are you going to answer me, Draco?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Draco whispered.
“Yes, you do,” Daphne whispered back, “How long has it been since your childhood crush on Harry Potter became more than that?”
“He’s just my friend, Daphne,” Draco said, a curtness in his voice even though he was whispering.
“You were terrified today; you are terrified,” Daphne said, “I’ve never seen you like this, Draco.”
“He’s my friend, Daphne, and Teddy’s life was at risk,” Draco whispered, “Of course I was upset and scared. It has nothing to do with Potter and whatever feelings you think I harbour for him.”
“Well, if you’re certain,” Daphne said, but it was clear that she didn’t believe a word that Draco said, “Because I knew you before you knew yourself, Draco. Nobody could blame you for repressing your feelings for boys when we were in school. I know how your father would have taken it.”
“Oh, for the love of Merlin, is this an intervention?” Draco asked in disbelief.
Daphne shot him an exasperated look, “Nobody would blame you for repressing it then, and when you spend so long pushing something like that down, you go into denial.”
“I’m not in denial,” Draco said simply, “Whatever phase I went through in our sixth year, it was just that – a phase. Every pureblood does it, and some people stay in that phase longer than others.”
He gave her a pointed look, and she rolled her eyes.
“It’s not a phase; I’m bisexual,” Daphne said simply, “And I suspect you are too, even if you won’t admit that to yourself right now. You spent the last seven years running a black market and playing the part of the high-class criminal gentleman. I get why you’re reluctant to admit that you could possibly want to sleep with men. But I think Harry Potter might be forcing you to adjust your perception, Draco.”
“And I think you’re the one in denial,” Draco said simply, “I’m not repressed, Daphne.”
Daphne highly doubted that, but she kept her mouth shut all the same. There was a time and a place, and this was neither.
“What’s going on in there?” Neville whispered. He and the team were hiding in a clump of bushes close to the building where Harry was being held.
“I can’t tell until we get past the wards,” Theo’s voice said over the communication channel. He and Eddie were already on the roof.
“Well, hurry!” Ron snapped.
“We’re going as fast as we can!” Eddie bit back.
“Shh,” Emma hushed as her wand vibrated. Her eyes widened, “Hurry, Eddie!”
“What did that mean?” Neville asked darkly.
“It means his bones are breaking. Every vibration is another injury…the tracker monitors his health too,” Emma whispered an incantation, and her eyes widened even more, “That can’t be right….”
“What’s it saying?” Neville and Ron asked in unison.
“That 52 of his bones are broken, his heart rate is far too high, and he’s losing a lot of blood,” Emma said quickly.
“52?” Neville hissed, “For the love of Godric, hurry up and break those wards!”
“I’ve got them. It’s done,” Theo’s voice cut in from the rooftop.
“Get to the roof, and keep your communications channel open!” Neville said to them as he began to run towards the front entrance of the car park with the rest of his ‘team’ shortly behind him. They entered the building slowly and carefully.
“I don’t want to split up unless we have to,” Neville whispered, “Theo, Eddie; Can you tell me if we should be going up or down?”
“The lowest floor of the building, that’s where they are. The rest of it is completely abandoned.”
“Okay, keep an eye out,” Neville told them. He began to walk down the stairwell slowly and quietly. They had all placed charms on their feet to muffle their footsteps. Halfway down, when they were about 3 floors lower, they heard the screams.
They were agonisingly loud, and they echoed up the stairwell. Harry didn’t usually scream, but he was clearly screaming in agony, and they were blood-curdling. They quickened their pace down to the lowest floor of the car park, and when they reached the entrance, they realised the extent of Harry’s injuries.
The bone-crushing curse had reached his knees now. There was a pool of blood on the floor around him. As his bones broke, some had forced their way through his skin. His legs and feet were sticking out at all sorts of disgusting angles. It was a good thing they were all Aurors, and therefore none of them were squeamish.
“Susan said curse to kill,” Neville whispered.
“Juniors shouldn’t kill unless they have to,” Ron muttered, “You got suspended the last time you killed someone. Let me do it.”
“Why does she want him dead?” Emma asked in a panicked whisper.
“Because he’s insane, we can’t put him in Azkaban or give him the dementors kiss,” Neville replied, “All he’ll get for this is a few more years in St. Mungo’s, and then he’ll be out again.”
Ron looked at Neville, and Neville nodded. He shut his eyes as Ron took a few steps closer and aimed his wand around the doorway.
“Avada Kedavra!”
Dennis’s body fell to the ground, and the spell he had been torturing Harry with ended. The four Aurors ran into the room, and Neville reached Harry first. He seemed to be in a haze of pain with no idea what had happened around him. His face was streaked with tears that he probably wasn’t aware he had been crying, and he was breathing heavily and still shouting in agony.
“Harry, it’s me,” Neville said softly, “It’s Neville. I’m going to get you to St. Mungo’s right away.”
“Nev…” Harry choked out.
“That’s right, it’s me,” Neville said. He had been busying himself by turning a stray brick into a portkey, and once it was done, he numbed Harry’s legs and lay him down on a stretcher that he had transfigured. He put the brick on Harry’s chest and touched it himself to activate it, and it pulled them both from the room into the emergency bay at St. Mungo’s.
“Oh my god,” The Trauma Healer on duty, Lilly Moon, said. She was a friend from school, so she looked up to Neville.
“Brief, Neville?”
“Bone crushing curse,” Neville replied, “Seems to have broken all of the bones from his knees downwards. If you don’t start mending them fast-”
“Permanent damage, I know,” Lilly said. She waved in a team of Healers, and around ten people in white cloaks rushed into the hallway.
“We’ll do everything we can,” Lilly promised Neville before they rushed Harry away.
Neville followed them inside the hospital and sat down on the floor in the corridor as he heard the first screams of pain coming from the operating room where they were fixing Harry’s bones.
He activated his communication bracelet, and Susan’s voice crackled into the room immediately.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Is he uninjured?”
“No.”
“How bad is it, Neville?”
“Bone crushing curse,” Neville said quietly, “Every bone from the knee down. If you haven’t heard the screams, he’s in the operating room now. They’re going to have to try and fix every single one. It’s got to be over 50 bones, Susan.”
“And Dennis Creevey?”
“Dead. Ron followed the authorisation to use lethal curses,” Neville replied.
“Ron, and not you?”
“You know my moral conscious, Susan, I couldn’t do it,” Neville said weakly, “I’m at the hospital, and I intend to stay here until I can see Harry. Ron is bringing in Creevey’s body, so I suppose you should be prepared for the fallout.”
“The press already know that something is wrong. They’re gathering in the Atrium and outside St Mungo’s,” Susan sighed, “Update me if the situation changes.”
“I will. Longbottom out.”
The group of Aurors, and kind-of Aurors, who traipsed up the stairs into the drawing-room of Andromeda’s house were tired and downtrodden. When they emerged into the drawing-room, they came face to face with the rest of their team. Andromeda was still asleep on one of the sofas, and Teddy was now asleep and covered in a blanket on the soft rug. Daphne and Draco stood up when Theo, Eddie, Emma and Ritchie returned.
“What happened?” Draco whispered.
“We found Harry alive,” Theo replied.
“But he’s in St. Mungo’s,” Ritchie added.
“What’s wrong with him?” Draco asked quickly.
“Creevey used a bone-crushing curse,” Emma whispered, “He broke all of the bones from his knees down.”
Draco’s face contorted with anger and disgust.
“Ron killed Creevey. We were authorised to use lethal curses…he took him back to the Ministry. Susan is debriefing him, and she wants us there too. We just stopped by to tell you how it had gone,” Eddie admitted.
“Where’s Longbottom?”
“At St. Mungo’s, with Harry.”
Draco nodded, “Are Daphne and I needed at the debriefing?”
“No, just the team that went in,” Ritchie said, “So we have to go.”
“Alright, good luck with it,” Draco said, mainly to his own team members.
Theo and Eddie nodded and left with Emma and Ritchie. Draco turned to look at Daphne, and she smiled slightly, “Go.”
“Teddy needs me here. Harry was right,” Draco said as he sat down on the rug next to the sleeping boy and gently stroked his hair.
“Teddy’s asleep,” Daphne said simply, “And Harry needs you too, even if neither of you will admit it.”
Draco gave her an exasperated look.
“As a friend,” Daphne elaborated, “Since that’s all you will admit that you are.”
She sat down by Teddy’s side and brushed his blue hair out of his face, “Right now, I expect Harry needs to hear from you that Teddy is okay. If nothing else will dull his pain, that will.”
“You know him remarkably well,” Draco mused, “Have you always known that he’s gay?”
“No, I only found out recently, but I didn’t know you knew,” Daphne admitted.
“I found out recently too,” Draco said honestly, “He told me last night. It doesn’t change my opinion of him, he’s still my friend, and he’s…someone who gave me a chance. It’s been a long time since someone did that, went out on a limb for me like he did. I hate that I feel indebted to him, but I do.”
Daphne watched Draco curiously. He kept his eyes on Teddy as he spoke, “I’m starting to see myself through his eyes, and that’s making me a better person. But it doesn’t mean that I’m repressed or in denial. I’m just grateful for our friendship.”
“Okay,” Daphne conceded, “If that is really how you feel, then that’s fine. But I only pushed because that was what I told myself at first about my feelings for Neville."
Draco looked up at her, and Daphne smiled, “And now I’m thinking about what it would be like to marry for love, not for status or money, for the first time in my life.”
“And I’m happy for you,” Draco said honestly, “Because I lost hope that I would feel like that long ago. I can form more lasting connections with my friends than I have ever been able to form with romantic partners, and I think, deep down, that’s because I’m scared that I’ll become my father when I get married.”
“It’s a valid fear, given everything he put you through,” Daphne promised, “But you will never be him, Draco, and you don’t even have to get married if that’s not what you want.”
Draco smiled sadly, “I will need to one day. I need an heir.”
“Says who?” Daphne asked simply, “You don’t need an heir. If you want one, that’s your choice, but I think you spend too much time thinking about what you ought to do as a Malfoy and not what you want to do as Draco.”
Draco frowned but said nothing more on the subject.
Daphne nudged him gently, “Go to the hospital and tell Harry that Teddy is safe.”
Draco looked over Teddy at Daphne, “Thank you for reminding me what really matters.”
“Anytime,” Daphne promised.
“Auror Longbottom?”
Neville looked up a the Medi-witch who was standing in the corridor. She smiled sympathetically at him, and he pushed himself to his feet.
“Any news?”
The Medi-witch nodded, “We have just transferred Auror Potter into his private room. You know where it is, yes?”
Neville nodded. He thanked the healer and took the steps two at a time up to the highest floor of the hospital. It housed the café, shop and private rooms that Aurors and Hit Witches or Wizards were assigned.
When Neville reached the corridor, Lilly stepped out of Harry’s room.
“Is he awake?”
Lilly nodded, “Yes, and he’s in a lot of pain, so I think he will welcome a distraction.”
“How bad is it?” Neville asked anxiously.
Lilly slipped the clipboard in her hands into a box outside the door to Harry’s room. She turned to Neville and replied, “There were 60 broken bones in total, and I can’t even begin to count the number of lacerations. Some bones were partially broken, so we had to break them properly for the bone-knitting potion to work.”
Neville grimaced, “But he’s going to recover, isn’t he?”
She raised an eyebrow and said, “He recovered when you brought him in here with a hex wound to the chest, didn’t he?”
Neville smiled slightly and nodded, “Yes, he did.”
Lilly smiled too, “And he recovered when you brought him in here with fiendfyre burns, didn’t he?”
Neville nodded at her, and Lilly took a step forward, “That is because every time Harry Potter gets wheeled or portkeyed into this building, I treat him.”
Neville nodded a final time and looked her in the eye, “Thank you.”
Lilly patted him on the arm and said, “You’re welcome. Now, go on in and distract him, and if he tells you I hit him to make sure there was no nerve damage, he’s lying.”
Neville laughed, and Lilly winked at him, then headed down the staff stairwell.
He let himself into Harry’s room and grimaced when he saw the state of his friend; Lilly hadn’t been lying about the pain Harry was in.
“Bone knitting potion?”
“Yeah, it’s agony,” Harry hissed with a slight nod.
“You’ll make a full recovery, thanks to Lilly,” Neville pointed out.
“Yeah, some bedside manner she has,” Harry ground out, “She hit me just now!”
Neville grinned, “She had to check for nerve damage, didn’t she?”
Harry glared half-heartedly at him, “Whose side are you on?”
Neville sat down by Harry’s bed and replied, “Yours. Susan made the wrong call today.”
“You spoke to her while Lilly was torturing me then?” Harry asked through gritted teeth.
“I spoke to her while Lilly was healing you, yes, and I told her that she made the wrong call,” Neville replied.
Harry looked over at his friend, “What did she tell you before you put the tracker in me?”
Neville sighed and answered, “She said that the priority was to save you, but if we couldn’t, then to bring your body back. She actually ordered me to let you go, to let you get kidnapped.”
Harry sighed, “She made the right call. She’s been my friend since I became an Auror, Neville. You know it too. I would not be able to live knowing that Teddy had died because of me. I would rather die for him than live without him.”
“Sounds like the voice of a parent,” Neville said softly.
“He’s as good as my son,” Harry said softly, “I love him more than I’ve ever loved anyone, and I would do anything for him.”
“I know,” Neville said.
“Susan was only acting Head of the Department today, but she proved to anyone who needed assuring that she’s ready for the top job,” Harry admitted.
Neville nodded, “I still hate the call she made, for the record.”
Harry smiled weakly, “You’re my best friend, course you do.”
“For what it’s worth, Draco did too,” Neville said carefully, “He was worried today.”
“Teddy was missing. We were both worried,” Harry said evasively.
“Draco wasn’t just worried about Teddy; he was worried about you,” Neville said.
“Just like you were,” Harry pointed out, “Because you’re my friend. It doesn’t mean there’s some secret longing between us, does it?”
“No,” Neville admitted, “But you didn’t spend your school years ranting about me, or stalking me, did you?”
Harry groaned in pain, then glared at Neville, “For the last time, he was a Death Eater!”
Harry’s temper didn’t scare Neville, especially when he was confined to a hospital bed. He waved a hand absentmindedly, “If you can’t admit it to yourself, that’s fine. Everyone else can see it anyway.”
Harry sighed, “It’s more complicated than that, Neville. He’s just there in my brain, all of the time. He always has been. He’s Malfoy, he’s infuriating, and I used to hate his stupid little smirk, but now I don’t, and suddenly he’s not a ratty little git, but he’s actually quite…attractive…and it’s confusing.”
Neville nodded, satisfied he was getting something closer to the truth from Harry.
“In sixth year, I really did follow him because I thought he was a Death Eater, but I started to feel sorry for him,” Harry admitted, “Then I spent all that time after the war trying to catch him, and when I did I didn’t want to put him in Azkaban….”
Neville cocked his head at Harry, and the shorter man sighed, “He’s my friend, and for now, that’s enough.”
“Alright,” Neville conceded, “I’ve got to get back to the Ministry. I’m sure it’s chaos there. But I’ll be back to check on you soon, alright?”
Harry nodded, and without another word, Neville slipped out of the room.
When Draco stepped into Harry’s room, he was in a little less pain than he had been earlier.
“Oh, hey Draco,” Harry smiled.
“When did we become Draco and Harry, as opposed to Malfoy and Potter?” Draco asked curiously as he sat down in the seat by Harry’s bed that Neville had just been occupying.
“At some point when we thought I was going to die,” Harry grimaced.
Draco glanced at his hands which were gripping the sheets, “Is the pain bad?”
Harry managed a slight nod, “Bone-knitting potion, yeah.”
Draco made a face, “Which means no numbing charms, right?”
“Just pain potions, yeah,” Harry said. He sucked in a shaky breath.
Draco held his hand out tentatively, “I, uh, I know a method that works. My mother used it to help me when I was young.”
Harry looked at Draco’s hand and frowned.
“Take my hand,” Draco said pointedly.
Harry reached up and grabbed Draco’s hand. The blonde man twisted his wand around in his other hand and murmured a spell that caused a shield to surround their joined hands.
“So this will sound strange if you have never channelled your magic before,” Draco explained, “But right now, your magic is trying to help your body heal your legs which means you feel everything. You can have some small reprieve from the pain if you squeeze my hand and focus on pushing your magic into this ball.”
Harry’s faith in Draco was such that he just nodded, then did as he said. He sighed in relief when he had managed it, his muscles loosening off slightly.
He didn’t drop Draco’s hand. The blonde man did move his hand down though, so it rested by Harry’s side, “We can hold it for ten minutes, then I’ll have to let go.”
“Ten minutes will feel like a lifetime after the last few hours,” Harry said breathily. Sweat shone on his forehead as he turned his head to the side to look at Draco, “Thank you.”
Draco nodded, and they fell silent as Harry’s breathing returned to normal.
“How old were you when you learned about this spell?” Harry asked quietly.
“Six,” Draco answered without hesitation.
“And you were suffering through bone-knitting potions?” Harry asked, unable to hide the surprise in his voice.
“No,” Draco replied quietly. He looked down at their joined hands to avoid looking Harry in the eye, “I was recovering from the effects of the cruciatus curse.”
Harry’s breath caught, “Draco - ”
“You’ve read my file,” Draco said curtly, “You don’t need to ask any more about it.”
Harry bowed his head, “My Muggle Uncle thought you could beat the magic out of a person.”
Draco frowned slightly and looked up, “What?”
Harry nodded, “He thought you could restrict their magic by beating someone and locking them in a small space. It was a lot of nonsense, of course, he was more likely to create an Obscurial. To be honest, I still don’t quite know what stopped that from happening.”
Draco looked at him for a long moment, “I’m sorry for assuming you grew up as a hero.”
Harry smiled wryly, “And I’m sorry for assuming you grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth.”
“Touche,” Draco chuckled.
Harry laughed too, but he was clearly flagging. He was pale, and he looked exhausted.
“Teddy is good, right?”
“He’s fine,” Draco replied honestly, “He’s asleep and safe. Daphne is with him.”
“Good,” Harry said as sleep tried to claim him, “He’s in good hands then.”
“Yes,” Draco agreed with a slight nod, “He is.”
Harry’s eyes drifted shut, and Draco spoke slightly softer, “You should go to sleep while the pain is gone. With any luck, you might stay asleep when the spell's effect wear off.”
“Okay,” Harry murmured sleepily, “Thanks, Draco.”
Draco smiled and stayed where he was until Harry’s breathing evened out. He sat by the other man's bed, convincing himself that Daphne was wrong and they were just friends for 15 minutes when eventually he couldn’t hold the spell any longer.
Harry stayed asleep, but Draco didn’t leave straight away. He watched Harry and told himself that he would have done exactly the same thing for any of his friends or his teammates, but after his conversation with Daphne, it was harder to believe that.
When Draco woke up on the 3rd of April, he had a small child curled up with him. He wasn’t sure when Teddy had snuck into the guest bedroom where Draco was sleeping in Andromeda’s house. But it must have been in the middle of the night. His hair often changed colour in his sleep depending on his thoughts or who he was with. It was pure blonde at the moment, which made Draco’s heart skip a beat.
At that moment, with Teddy curled up next to him, his hair so blonde, his breathing soft and even, his thumb in his mouth…Draco realised that he wanted children. He had always loved Teddy, but he had never really thought about having his own children. Daphne had said he didn’t need an heir, but suddenly it hit Draco that maybe he wanted one.
Damn Daphne Greengrass and the deeply repressed thoughts and dreams she was pulling from inside his soul.
Draco sighed, ran a hand through his hair then extracted himself from Teddy’s grasp. He slipped a dressing gown on over his pyjamas, and the movement woke Teddy. He peered up at Draco through bleary eyes.
“I was scared last night, Uncle Draco,” Teddy mumbled, “Sorry.”
“That’s alright, Teddy,” Draco said gently as he ruffled a hand through Teddy’s hair.
“Would pancakes cheer you up?” Draco asked with a smile.
“Maybe,” Teddy said with a frown, “If they have bacon and syrup on them!”
Draco shook his head and chuckled as he stepped onto the staircase and walked downstairs with Teddy in tow, “Pancakes and syrup? Yuck!”
“Not yuck!” Teddy exclaimed, “It’s yummy! Uncle Harry lets me have it. Uncle Harry makes me pancakes with chocolate spread, banana and marmite!”
“Uncle Harry has disgusting taste in food,” Draco said matter of factly.
“Hey, that’s not nice!”
Draco chuckled, “I’m sorry, Teddy.”
“Can I ask you a question, Uncle Draco?” Teddy asked thoughtfully.
“Of course you can,” Draco said as he walked into the kitchen and popped Teddy down on a barstool.
Teddy watched Draco for a moment as he began to get pots out of the cupboard.
“Grandma has two friends who visit a lot, and they are both boys…and Grandma says they live together… I saw them kiss one time at Christmas, and Grandma says they love each other. But boys are supposed to love girls, aren’t they?”
Draco dropped the flour in shock at Teddy’s question and the utterly innocent nature with which it was asked.
Draco cleared his throat and cleaned up the spilt flour with his wand, “Well, Teddy, that’s a complicated question.”
“Is it?” Teddy frowned, “Because I think anyone can love anyone, can’t they? I think I love Victoire…and she’s a girl. But I think you love Uncle Harry because you smile when you’re with him, and you said his name last night when you were asleep. Were you dreaming about him, Uncle Draco?”
Draco stared at Teddy in disbelief. He was utterly speechless.
“I think you are perfectly right, Teddy,” Andromeda said as she walked into the kitchen and sat next to Teddy on a barstool, “I think anyone can love anyone. But not everybody understands that, so sometimes a person can love more than one person.”
“More than one?” Teddy asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Draco agreed, “Because there are many different kinds of love. You love your Grandma with a family kind of love, but you love Victoire in a friendly way.”
Teddy frowned, “So what way do you love Uncle Harry?”
Draco’s calm façade cracked again.
“That is an excellent question, Teddy,” Andromeda said calmly. She looked pointedly at Draco.
Draco glared at his aunt and replied, “In a friendship way, Teddy.”
Teddy nodded, apparently deep in thought, “Okay.”
“Any more questions?” Draco asked, dreading whatever they may be.
“Can two boys have babies?” Teddy asked.
Draco looked at Andromeda for guidance, and she raised an eyebrow, “It’s a modern concept, Draco. I suppose you would be better placed to explain it than me.”
Draco internally cursed her and replied, “Well, they can, but it’s quite complicated, Teddy.”
“Why?”
“Well, because…because…oh, Salazar. Aunt Dromeda, please help me out here,” Draco pleaded.
Andromeda gave him an exasperated look but said, “Girls and boys are made differently, Teddy. Only girls can carry a baby in their tummy, so two boys can make a baby, but a girl has to carry it in her tummy for them.”
“That’s really nice of her,” Teddy said thoughtfully.
Andromeda smiled, somewhere between amusement and a genuine smile, “Yes, I suppose it is.”
Teddy nodded, apparently to himself and then he turned back to Draco, “Can I have pancakes now?”
Draco was eager for the distraction, so he nodded, “Of course, you can. Do you want pancakes, Aunt Dromeda?”
“No, thank you,” Andromeda replied distastefully, “But I shall get the coffee on.”
She disappeared to the other side of the kitchen, and Draco blew out a breath. Children really had a way of putting a person on the spot.
Draco busied himself with the breakfast, and when Teddy was digging into a pile of pancakes, he looked up at Draco and asked, “Can we visit Uncle Harry after breakfast?”
He looked from Teddy to Andromeda, “Uh, I have to go to work, Ted, but your Grandma will take you to visit him.”
Andromeda swept past and kissed Teddy on the forehead, “Of course I will, darling.”
Draco let out a breath of relief. After his little ‘moment’, he didn’t really want to see Harry right now. His cheeks flushed when he thought of how he had spent fifteen minutes holding his hand. He had watched his chest rise up and down for another five; that sort of attachment scared him.
So, naturally, Draco would repress everything and probably avoid Harry in the process.
Harry had to remain in St. Mungos for the next two weeks. It took four painful days for his bones to fully heal themselves. And after that, he had to go through physical therapy to get his strength back up because he had been incredibly wobbly at first.
It was horrific, but Teddy was there throughout it all, and his smile cheered Harry to no end. Hermione was around too. Everyone had visited him, Neville, Ron, Emma, Ritchie, Daphne, and even Theo and Eddie. But since that first visit, Harry hadn’t seen Draco, and he now knew that the Slytherin was definitely avoiding him. He supposed it was because of that spell he had used and the intimacy that had undeniably come with it.
Harry’s cheeks flushed when he thought about it, come to think of it.
“I actually kind of miss him,” Harry told Hermione when she arrived to help him out of St. Mungos.
“Malfoy?” Hermione asked as Harry got up, steady on his feet.
Harry nodded, “Merlin, I can’t wait to be out of these bloody hospital pyjamas.”
“Don’t change the subject, Harry,” Hermione said with a raised eyebrow, “You miss Malfoy?”
Harry shrugged and pulled on the jeans she had brought him, “I miss his company. Almost as much as I miss my cigarettes.”
Hermione smiled, “Well, you two are becoming friends. Although I would like to know why he’s avoiding you.”
“So would I,” Harry quipped.
Hermione gave him a long look, “Don’t pretend you don’t know. Something must have happened.”
Harry shrugged. He didn’t want to tell Hermione the truth, so he glossed over it, “Nothing happened. He visited me, and we talked about our childhoods, but still….”
“Well, he’s not the type of person who likes to give much away,” Hermione pointed out, “Maybe he just felt that you were getting a little too close, so he needed to take a step back.”
“Maybe,” Harry said quietly, “Haven’t you seen him at the Ministry?”
“Not really; we don’t work in the same department,” Hermione said honestly, “I mean, I’ve seen him occasionally when I’ve met Theo for lunch.”
“Is he alright?” Harry asked curiously.
“He seems okay, maybe he’s a little paler than normal and a bit snappy,” Hermione shrugged, “But he’s always been a bit touchy, so….”
“You can say that again,” Harry said as he pulled on his leather jacket.
Hermione held out her arm to him, “Ready?”
Harry nodded, and they left the hospital together. The second they were out in the open, Harry lit up a cigarette and breathed an appreciative sigh.
Hermione sighed heavily, “I was hoping your time in hospital would have convinced you to kick that terrible habit.”
“No such luck,” Harry retorted.
“I swear to Merlin, you’ve started smoking more since you and Malfoy became friends. If I didn’t know better, I’d have suggested that you use it as an excuse for one-on-one time together on that bloody balcony,” Hermione said with a knowing smile.
“Nonsense,” Harry said smoothly, “I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.”
“Of course you don’t,” Hermione said as she hid a smile, “Come on, I’m buying you lunch. It’s my treat.”
“Did Susan tell you when I’d be allowed back at work?”
“Monday,” Hermione replied as they walked towards a Muggle café, “Apparently, you are in perfect health.”
“So why are you buying me lunch?” Harry asked as he narrowed his eyes at her, “You either want something, or you have bad news for me.”
“Well, you have to be on desk duty…for at least a week,” Hermione said warily.
Harry groaned, “What? If I’m perfectly healthy, why does she have to stick me behind a desk for a bloody week?”
“Don’t ask me; I’m not your boss,” Hermione said as she dragged him through the door, “She said it was protocol.”
“Fuck protocol!”
- TBC -